Keller Scrapes Her Knee
by glassangelrose
Summary: one shot between keller and Galen cause i feel like not enough is written about these two! . There's not much plot, mainly fluff, but it's cute:  Please read and review!


Keller needed to _move_. She hadn't been outside in over a week—thanks to the torrential downpour— and she could feel the energy coiled up in her muscles. The rain had finally stopped, and Keller couldn't wait to be outside again.

She darted out of the mansion's front door, stopping briefly to take a deep breath of fresh air. She loved how the air was thick with the last drops of rain, how it felt cool and refreshing against her flushed skin.

She took three running steps before lunging. She shifted as she flew through the air, enjoying the thrill of giving into her animal nature. She landed gracefully a couple of feet from the mansion, with all the quiet stealth of a master predator. She sank down into a crouch, preparing to launch herself at full speed into the forest, when she heard someone behind her.

_Galen. _He was lounging against the doorway of the mansion, his gold hair shining in the sunlight, chuckling lightly at Keller's excitement.

_ Are you coming or not? _She asked him through their bond, looking over her shoulder at him.

Galen grinned wider at the invitation, his gold green eyes sparkling with amusement, and replied _Yeah, I'm coming._ He jumped off the front steps, shifting in mid-air like Keller had, and landed quietly next to her.

They sprinted off into the forest together, Keller quickly taking the lead, and Galen making no attempt to stop her. Keller loved the feeling of her muscles burning, of her heart pounding as she pushed herself to run harder and faster. Running made her feel strong, invincible-like nothing could hurt her.

So it was kind of ironic that, at that moment, she tripped. She was too absorbed in the joys of exercising- the feeling of air whipping against her fur, the sensation of clean air whooshing through her lungs, and the rhythmic sound of her paws pounding against the forest floor-that she forgot to look where she was going.

Her foot got caught on a raised root hidden beneath a pile of damp leaves. She went flying, and before she could even catch her breath, she was sprawled on the forest floor.

"Damn," Keller muttered as she pried her body off the pile of leaves she had fallen on. There was a dull ache in her leg as she moved to stand up. She glanced down, taking one look at her knee, and swore again, more vehemently. There was a nasty scrape along the bottom of her knee. Dark, red blood was oozing out of it, trickling slowly down her leg and Keller eyed it disdainfully. Figures, on her first day back outside she'd end up injured.

Galen was beside her in a matter of seconds. "Are you okay?" His green gold eyes were brimming with loving concern, his forehead puckered with worry.

"I'm fine. It's just a tiny cut," Keller dismissed, brushing his distress aside. She determinedly stood up . . . and then winced as she put pressure on her leg.

_ Keller! Don't walk! _Galen demanded, grabbing her arm to help support her.

Keller rolled her eyes and slid her arm out of his grip. She took another step forward. _The pain isn't so bad, once you get used to it,_ she thought.

She could sense Galen's skepticism at this announcement.

So what if she wasn't being entirely truthful?

It actually_ did_ hurt…a lot. More than she would have expected from tripping over a root. But that didn't matter. She didn't need Galen nursing her like she was a helpless little girl. _I'm not weak. I can. . . _

However, she never got to finish the thought because Galen had suddenly scooped her up into his arms.

"Galen!" she yelped. "Put me down!"

Galen smiled softly and said, _Keller, you're not weak... but you are hurt. I'm not going to just sit here and watch you limp your way back to the mansion._

_Really? _Keller challenged sourly, her eyes narrowing dangerously_, and what exactly _are_ you planning on doing?_

_I'm going to carry you back to the mansion, and then I'm going to help you clean up this cut, _Galen answered simply, taking a giant step forward.

Keller squirmed against him, but he refused to let her down. She eventually gave up, and with an irritated huff, just sat limp in his arms, her own arms crossed tightly across her chest.

She was angry at Galen for being so annoying protective of her- and even angrier at herself for not being completely adverse to his behavior. She liked the feeling of Galen's strong arms wrapped around her, the tickle of his breath on her cheek as he leaned down to whisper reassurances in her ear.

Not that she would ever tell Galen that.

True to his word, Galen carried her all the way to the mansion. He swiftly brought her into the kitchen and placed her on the counter.

_Don't move!_ He ordered before rushing off to find some band aids and Neosporin.

He was back in no time. He carefully wet a dish towel and pressed it against her wound. Keller sucked in a sharp breath when the wet rag touched her raw skin, and Galen squeezed her hand reassuringly.

He was incredibly gentle as he fixed her knee. His long fingers were feather light against her skin as he spread Neosporin around her cut. Keller soon found herself forgetting why she had put up such a fuss in the first place. Galen flashed a wide grin and she realized she had forgotten to block that last thought.

Keller flushed a deep pink, and averted her gaze.

Galen ignored her embarrassment and quickly finished up with her knee. He gently smoothed the band aid on and then helped her down from the counter.

_Better? _Galen asked_._

_Yeah_, Keller answered with a soft smile_, better._


End file.
